MAG research confirms what riders instinctively know – motorcyclists are disproportionately impacted by vehicle theft. A motorcycle owner is 11 times more likely to suffer theft of their vehicle than a car owner. Motorcycles constitute over a quarter of all reported vehicle theft despite being only 3% of the available targets for thieves.
MAG are committed to reducing motorcycle theft within the UK via a variety of avenues:
Ask your PCC now to take our Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge.
Find a local Fight Motorcycle Theft meeting near you.
View employer’s guide to secure motorcycle parking which is available for download as part of MAG’s Ride to Work Campaign resources.
Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge
The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has launched the Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge ahead of May’s Police and Crime Commissioner elections. MAG is pushing for motorcycle theft to be given the profile it deserves.
Riders can take advantage of elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) coming on May 2nd this year. MAG intends to create accountability for performance against clear goals. It will achieve this by pushing all candidates to make the pledge as part of their election campaigns.
View MAG’s Motorcycle Theft in Perspective Report: https://wiki.mag-uk.org/images/f/f4/Motorcycle_Theft_in_Perspective.pdf
Campaign Action Steps
What we are doing
MAG is asking all existing and candidate PCCs to make a clear, achievable and deliverable three-part pledge. Firstly, candidates will set a quantifiable four-year goal. Secondly, they will pledge to hold the relevant Chief Constable accountable for publishing progress towards the goal. Finally, they will pledge to work in partnership with all stakeholders on the issue.
The pledge will be sent by MAG to all incumbent PCCs and to the new candidates when they are announced ahead of the May 2nd elections.
What we need you to do
We need you to follow up, the more contact the PCCs receive, the more likely they are to sign the pledge.
Step 1: Open up an email to your current PCC
Go HERE to find your current PCC
Step 2: Ask your PCC to take the pledge to fight motorcycle theft
Ask your PCC to take the pledge and send you back a picture of them holding it, or a short video
Step 3: Send the pledge to us
Send an image of your PCC or signed pledge to us at central-office@mag-uk.org and all PCCs and candidate PCCs who have taken the pledge will be added to our PCC pledge gallery.
The Pledges
See the full list of PCCs to take the pledge here:
2024_PCC_Candidates.pdf (mag-uk.org)
Cumbria
David Allen, Labour’s candidate for Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner takes the Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge.
Find out more about David Allen at:
https://www.facebook.com/DavidAllenCumbriaPFCC/
Mike Johnson, Conservative Cumberland Councillor for the Thursby ward and Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Conservative PFCC candidate. Takes the Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge.
Find out more about Councillor Mike Johnson at:
https://www.mikejohnson.org.uk
London
Zoë Garbett, Green candidate for Mayor of London takes the Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge ahead of the May the 2nd elections.
Find out more about Zoë at: https://zoegarbett.london/
https://twitter.com/LonGreenParty
https://twitter.com/ZoeGarbett
North Yorkshire
York & North Yorkshire Mayor candidate Keith Tordoff is the first to make the Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge. The newly created Mayoral role will include the role of Police and Crime Commissioner for the North Yorkshire Police Force. The election of the first Mayor of York and North Yorkshire takes place on 2nd May as do all PCC elections around the country.
Find out more about Keith Tordoff here: https://keithtordoff4mayor.co.uk/
South Yorkshire
David Bettney, SDP candidate for South Yorkshire Mayor takes the Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge.
Find out more about Dave Bettney at:
Thames Valley
Tim Bearder, Liberal Democrats Police and Crime Commissioner Candidate for Thames Valley, is the second to take the Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge ahead of the elections taking place on the 2nd of May.
Found out more about Tim Bearder here: https://www.facebook.com/TimBearderUK
Ben Holder-Crowther, Independent candidate for Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner takes the Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge.
Learn more about Ben Holder-Crowther at:
West Mercia
Sarah Murray, Liberal Democrat candidate for West Mercia PCC, and St Nicholas ward on Worcester City Council, takes the Fight Motorcycle Theft Pledge.
Find out more about Sarah Murray at:
https://www.facebook.com/sarahmurraylibdem/
Fight Motorcycle Theft Meetings
MAG are hosting a series of meetings across the UK in an attempt to combat motorcycle theft. These hustings style meetings bring together local police, local Politicians and local councils to give the public their chance to make suggestions about what can be implemented to tackle the problem. MAG has already delivered 6 successful public meetings aimed at raising the profile of the fight against motorcycle theft. Gillingham in Kent, Birmingham, Hertfordshire, Manchester, Hull and Leeds have seen meetings earlier this year with riders given the chance to hold the authorities to account. The previous meetings have seen tangible outcomes, and the hope is that the next meetings will be equally effective.
Meeting dates
The next meeting will be held in London on the 26th of February at City Hall.
This will be a ticketed event. Tickets are available to book here.
An option to attend virtually is being explored.
If you would like to be informed of event dates and locations when they are announced, or have suggestions of new areas to be covered please email central-office@mag-uk.org
Kent- 15/03/23
Birmingham-15/04/23
Hertfordshire-14/06/23
Manchester-21/09/23
Hull- 21/10/23
Nottingham- TBC
Leeds-11/11/23
London- 26/02/24
Cardiff-TBC
Edinburgh-TBC
Past Meetings and Subsequent Action
Podcast, Steve Mallet on what happens after a motorcycle theft meeting
Steve Mallet South East rep and host of the first motorcycle theft meeting tells us the longer term outcomes.
Leeds Theft Meeting
Our 5th meeting was held in Leeds, in attendance were Alison Lowe, West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime and Damien Miller, West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable.
Hull Theft Meeting
Humberside Police offer to form a motorcycle theft focus group at MAG’s Fight Motorcycle Theft meeting in Hull. Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner, Jonathan Evison, and Operation Yellowfin lead, Chief Inspector Derek Hussain, are both backing this engagement having heard the concerns of local riders at the meeting.
Manchester Theft Meeting
Our 4th and latest meeting was held in Manchester, in attendance were Greater Manchester Deputy Mayor, Kate Green and Mike Parker, Chief Inspector for Roads Policing.
Speaking a few days after the event, Greater Manchester Deputy Mayor, Kate Green said
I would like to thank Motorcycle Action Group for hosting the event and inviting me along to speak with local members. It is important to listen to the concerns being raised to see how I, along with colleagues from Greater Manchester Police, can provide advice and support. This meeting also enabled Police to take details of issues to follow up on, which I hope demonstrates how we’re keen to work with community groups and that action will be taken where intelligence of criminal activity is received. Speaking to the group afterwards it felt that people had found it a meaningful session. I will certainly consider all the issues raised in planning and delivery of the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Plan.
MAG also want to look into the under-reporting of motorcycle theft in more detail. We are keen to hear directly from anyone who has had a motorbike stolen and chosen not to report it to the police. For those how haven’t suffered a theft, in the event of a theft, would you consider not reporting it? Please let us know by emailing central-office@mag-uk.org
Kent Theft Meeting
The first meeting held was in Medway, Kent. As well as a good turnout from concerned local riders, the meeting saw promises from the PCC of funding for secure parking. Find further details of the Kent meeting in the video below.
North Kent MAG are arranging a follow up meeting with the Kent PCC (Matthew Scott) and Kent police (Inspector Jenner) to discuss what progress has been made since the March Public Meeting. The Police have been very accommodating and are arranging the venue and as North Kent MAG is very flexible and eager to progress the campaign. We are in also touch with the relevant personnel on Medway Council and BikerBiker and will be having another meeting with them as well to report on what the what further steps the PCC and Police are prepared to undertake.
Steve Mallett, South East MAG Rep